Nonprofit provides safe, meaningful play for children
Christine Trang | 5-27-2010 | Comments |
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Three years ago, Emma Cueva, a fourth-grade teacher at W. Claude Hudnall Elementary School, noticed students walking around slowly at recess or roaming the playground with no destination. Some even started fights.“I had a lot of students with issues at home, especially in the areas of conflict resolution,” Cueva said.
Now, the students are different. Playworks, a nonprofit organization, helped the students become more energetic and learn to solve problems that might emerge during a playground game.
“When the bell rings, the students run out and want to play,” Cueva said. “They are more active, and it is great to see them want to play together nicely.”
The nationwide organization sends trained, full-time coaches to low-income elementary schools, where they organize physical activity, provide individual class game time and run a leadership development program during school hours. As part of an ongoing effort to teach students how to interact with one another, about 100 students and parents from all over Inglewood gathered at the elementary school Thursday to play basketball, handball and volleyball, among other games.
Thursday’s event was the first in a series hosted by Playworks to celebrate the end of the school year and to raise awareness about the organization, which just finished its first year in Los Angeles.
“We come into the schoolyard, we add structure, but we also try to give students the skills to engage in friendly activity,” Paul Younger, the Playworks coordinator at W. Claude Hudnall Elementary School, said. “When students learn how to alleviate problems during playtime, teachers also get more time in the classroom because they do not have to try to resolve issues that occurred in the play yard.”
How Younger got into Playworks and what he does as the Playworks coordinator:
While some coach at elementary schools, others write grants for the nonprofit organization. There are also individual donors who offer their money to the organization.
But for Lady Sutton, a W. Claude Hudnall Elementary School parent, money is not a concern.“This type of event gives students something to do, other than going home to watch television all day," Sutton joked. “A lot of these students do not get to see each other outside of school, so this gives them the chance to enjoy the time they have, and still learn."
Most agreed the event would serve as an opportunity to teach students a number of valuable lessons, including cooperation and teamwork.
“Out here, we complement what is done in class,” Thomas Washington, the principal of W. Claude Hudnall Elementary School, said. “This is one of the few events we have had to bring the community together and get everyone involved.”
Sincere Clark, a second-grade student at W. Claude Hudnall Elementary School, said he enjoyed the first-of-its-kind event.
“I like to play games with my friends,” Clark said. “Everybody is happy.”
But despite the common goal to create a fun learning environment for children in the community, Cueva said the children's improvement is what matters most.
“We do not see as many behavior problems anymore,” Cueva said. “There are also less children getting in trouble, and there are less fights and suspensions than there were in previous years.”
How Cueva applies playground lessons in her classroom and what she thinks the children have learned:
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